College Football Week Four: Thoughts and Opinions

I don’t mean to make light of the situation, and he has been released, but the injury to Tim Tebow yesterday shows he is human. He is not Superman. He is just a college football player.

I have had concussions before; I am sure many of us have. The problem is, most of the time people appear normal within a few days and don’t show any signs of the concussion, but the brain takes time to heal.

It is fortunate that Florida has a bye week. I hope Tebow rests and heals and doesn’t get rushed back into action.

Non Auto-Qualifiers

In terms of non-BCS conference teams with a shot at BCS bowl games, Boise State is still at the forefront, but TCU and Houston are in the mix waiting for a slip up.

The long-standing belief that these teams have to go undefeated in order to have a chance puts a few others, primarily BYU, at a major disadvantage but not completely out. The debate then becomes who has the best resume?

SEC Championship Game

At this point it appears that Florida and Alabama are the teams headed for the SEC championship game. I think the main challenge in the East still comes from Georgia, and the West is thinning out with the Ole Miss loss. LSU also doesn’t seem as strong coming off a narrow win over Mississippi State.

The Favorite in the Pac 10 Is…

Vacant until proven otherwise. Sure you could go back to the old standby of USC but it is hard to ignore Oregon after the Ducks appear to have rediscovered their offense and defense looks solid.

Arizona picked up a big road win at Oregon State to place itself in the discussion. UCLA hasn’t opened conference play but is 3-0. Stanford is making a push after beating Washington right after the Huskies' upset of USC.

Here is a quick thought on Oregon/Cal: Had Oregon not fumbled the opening kickoff which set up Cal for its only points, would the Bears have scored in the game at all?

Cincinnati

Traditional wisdom is control the clock and you control the game. In other words, own time of possession and you win the game.

Don’t tell that to Cincinnati.

The Bearcats had just over 16 minutes of possession on Saturday and won the game. Cincinnati also came in with less time of possession against Oregon State and Rutgers. The offense scores quickly and therefore has the ball less than the other team.

Miami

Just when it seemed the U was back, this happens: a loss to Virginia Tech.

Not just a loss, but a bad loss.

Miami didn’t score until the third quarter and it was the 'Canes' only score of the game. Miami could only muster 59 yards rushing. Granted this was played in one of the worst downpours I have seen (keep in mind I live in the northwest).

I also think the schedule had something to do with this, as this was Miami’s third game in a row against a ranked opponent. It doesn't get any easier: ranked Oklahoma is up next.

Big 10, Quickly

Is Michigan overrated or is Indiana underrated? Is Penn State still a favorite? Ohio State has bounced back from the loss to USC and pitched back-to-back shutouts. Iowa is in this race. Purdue keeps losing close, but losing nonetheless, with three losses in a row by a combined 12 points. Michigan State and Illinois, what happened?

Things That Look Funny

I know it is still early in the season and not many conference games have been played, but it seems to me that the standings look a little funny.

In the WAC Idaho is in second place and Fresno State is in last. Stanford is currently at the top of the Pac-10. Ball State and Buffalo, the teams that played for the MAC title last season, are at sixth in their divisions. Ohio State and Penn State are at five and eight in the Big Ten. Oklahoma and Texas Tech are bringing up the rear in the Big 12 South.

Who is BJ Daniels?

He is the freshman quarterback at South Florida that had to step in for four-year starter Matt Grothe. His first opponent as a starter? Florida State. Seems like things would be kinda ugly.

But he performed well enough, throwing for 215 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another 126 yards. His percentages left something to be desired as he was 8-for-21 and threw two interceptions along with his two touchdowns. The end result though was a 17-7 win over No. 18 Florida State.

Heisman Race

The three big names to start the season were of course Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, and Colt McCoy. Other names have come up, such as Cal running back Jahvid Best, but he was stifled at Oregon. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike has put up some solid numbers.

As for a few other names based on pure stats:

Greg Alexander, QB, Hawaii

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

Ryan Matthews, RB, Fresno State

Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford

Right now I would say the race is as wide open as it could be. If voting were today, I know I wouldn't want to be in the voters position.